Joey Porter stirs up serious Steelers drama on Cam Heyward's podcast

The Pittsburgh Steelers are going through significant changes this offseason, and none are bigger than the change at head coach. Mike Tomlin's decision to step down has elicited opinions from all across the NFL, from players, to the media, to the fans of the franchise.

Most notable among the many with opinions about Tomlin's tenure as HC are James Harrison and Ben Roethlisberger, both of whom spent the vast majority of their careers under his tutelage. Both have been rather critical of Tomlin leading up to and after his departure, and another former Steelers player clearly was tired of hearing it.

On Cam Heyward's Not Just Football podcast on Wednesday, Joey Porter Sr. spoke very candidly about his qualms with what his former teammates have been saying this offseason.

Joey Porter Sr. sounds off on his former Pittsburgh Steelers teammates

Porter first went after Harrison, with scathing remarks towards his fellow pass rusher about his belief that Tomlin wasn't a great coach.

“I told (Harrison), I said, ‘How can you say (Tomlin)’s not a great coach when everything good that’s happened to you in football was under his watch?’” “Your ‘Deebo’ name? When I played with you, you were ‘James Harrison.’ Under Mike, three or four Pro Bowls, Defensive Player of the Year, playing in two championships, paid you over $50-something million? The head coach didn’t have his hand in making that player? (Expletive), why would you take a shot at the guy who changed your life? Because (Bill) Cowher didn’t change your life. Cowher cut you three times.”

Porter made multiple fair points in his criticism of Harrison, even if others may argue that his issues with Tomlin are more personal than they are football-related. What he had to say about Roethlisberger, however, is the thing that has stirred up serious drama among fans.

“He should never grab a microphone and really talk Steeler business,” Porter said. “If we’re talking Steelers business, his (expletive) is foul of all foul. The (expletive) that he did is foul of all foul. He’s not a good teammate. Won a Super Bowl with him, but the person? He’s just not a good teammate. He knows that. Anybody in the Steeler building knows that. But we protected him because I’ve only won one Super Bowl, and that was my quarterback. So do I love my quarterback? Yeah. But is he a good person? No.”

It has long been known by Steelers fans that Roethlisberger is far from a role model, and that's without even getting into the legal concerns he faced early in his career. But for a player of Porter's standing in Steelers history to say what he said is rather damning. Heyward, to his credit, largely avoided taking any particular stance on the matter, which is for the best considering he is still a member of the team.

While I tend to believe it was fair to criticize Tomlin's last decade as the Steelers HC, I also understand where Porter is coming from. Tomlin was a beacon of stability in an era where so many teams are stuck in the mud or swinging violently between contention and disaster. Not to mention his time coaching under Tomlin.

Tomlin's legacy in Pittsburgh will be dissected for years to come, but we certainly know exactly where Porter stands, and it's with the coach he never even played under.